Moving house

The ponds in Broomfield Park, Palmers Green, or new 'hood

Moving house is never easy, especially when you have two babies, two cats and a husband who has lived in the same flat for twenty years. We all finally left our cool Islington masionette a couple of weeks ago for a four bedroom house four miles north in suburban Palmers Green. And what an avalanche of emotions of has been; relief, sadness, nostalgia and excitement all rolled into one. Leaving the home you first brought your new bundles of joy back to is an intense experience. I have so many happy memories of Evie's firsts; her first bath where she screamed the walls down, her first smile, her first bout of giggles (aged 4 months, I'm not kidding!), her first proper meal and her first word ('mummy' at eight months). And then darling Lola turned up and at the tender age of six weeks we whisked her and the family off to a garden flat in Palmers Green. We are staying here for a couple of months while we get the new house over the road done up. It's been a wrench. I have left behind some incredible friends and an amazing network of mums, the chichi shops of Islington, divine Ottolenghi, our lovely neighbours and that twelve minute tube ride into central London. I will miss my daily dose of the grand Georgian architecture and Highbury Fields one o-clock club, not the mention the cafe in the park. But onto pastures new: a bigger house (almost twice the size) a garden (yippee for Evie and Lola) and a lovely laid back, family-orientated neighbourhood with a good school at the end of the road. Oh, and did I mention two of my good friends from Islington are also moving to Palmers Green with their two-year-olds (watch out Crouch End!). Stay posted for weekly interiors updates on the house - there is A LOT of work to be done before we all finally move into our new home.

The hardest part in leaving is always the things you will leave behind. It's because all houses bear memories, both good and bad. It's always a challenge to move to another place. Anyway, I wish you and your family a good start in the new flat! =)